Jenny Ch. 08

"The other half share is there for the future, Robbie. If one of my parents should pass away or if anything were to happen to me, the other half of the share would automatically become yours," Tom explained.

"I'm ... I ... I don't know what to say. This is amazing. You can't imagine how good this makes me feel," he said, standing and reaching to shake Tom's hand.

"Well, it makes me feel pretty good too, Robbie," Tom smiled. "I'm just glad the opportunity was there. I knew we needed to do something for you, but this was the best possible way."

"Wow, wait 'till I tell Julie about this. What a day!"

"Well, don't hang around here, then," Tom said abruptly. "Get on home and give her the good news. Thank you again, Tom. This is really something special. I won't ever forget this day."

With that, he turned and walked rapidly out of the Pub on his way home.

Tom sat quietly in the corner booth and contemplated all the great things that had happened to him over the past few months. The two people he cared most about outside his own family were now part of his family. First Jenny and now Robbie. It had been a good day. A very, very good day.

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Tom walked into his kitchen and looked at Jenny with a much exaggerated smile on his face.

Jenny looked at him, recognized the signal and said, "You did the deed?"

Tom gave her a big hug and said, "Yes. Senor Roberto Delgado will become a shareholder in Blanton Construction at midnight, January first."

"That's wonderful Tom. I'm sure Julie will be very, very happy with the news. How did Robbie react?"

"I caught him completely by surprise. He didn't know what to say. He thought he would have to pay for the share."

"Really! Oh my, it must have come as a real shock when he found out it was a gift."

"Yup! Speechless!" Tom grinned. "Where's Nikki?"

"Downstairs, doing her homework, I hope," she answered. She paused for a moment and then, "You never told me you had a black belt in karate."

Tom looked at her and frowned. "I didn't think it was important."

"Your mother did. She said it was all the difference in the world in your school work," Jenny continued.

"I suppose," Tom answered nonchalantly.

"Is that why you didn't think you were in danger with Tremblay?"

"Sort of."

"You're not giving me much, are you?"

"Nope," he said, looking at her with a faint smile.

"Did you hit him?"

"Yeah, once."

"Hard?"

"Very."

"Just once?"

"Just once."

"Did you hurt him badly?"

"Couple of ribs I think."

"Good. He deserved it after what he did to Vinnie," she said unexpectedly.

Tom looked at her with a frown. "No, not good. It goes against all my training. We aren't the Sopranos, you know."

Jenny just laughed and went back to preparing their evening meal. A moment later Nikki popped into the kitchen.

"Hi dad. When's dinner mom?"

"Coming right up. Wash your hands first."

As Nikki went to the bathroom to wash, Jenny turned to Tom.

"You got any of those karate moves you can show me later?" she smirked.

"Pretty tough stuff for a frail young lady like you," he warned.

"Oh yeah, what about 'Jumpin' Jenny?'" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Well, that's different. I might have a move or two for her," he winked.

After supper, Nikki had returned to her downstairs domain, and Tom and Jenny cleaned up the kitchen. Jenny had just finished washing the items not destined for the dishwasher, and Tom was busy putting things away when the door bell rang. Jenny took off her apron and headed for the front door.

Tom continued to put things away and when he finished, was surprised that he couldn't hear Jenny, and that she hadn't returned to the kitchen yet. He walked out of the kitchen, through the dining room and into the great room and stopped dead in his tracks.

Jenny was backing slowly into the room from the entrance foyer with her hands extended in front of her. Tom began to move toward her when he saw the man carefully walk into the living room. It was Martin Tremblay, and he had a gun in his hand.

"Stop right there, asshole!" Tremblay snarled.

"What do you want?" Tom asked in a low voice.

"I owe you and you owe me. I got two cracked ribs from your last visit and you're gonna pay for that."

"You've been paid ... and as for the ribs ... I told you nobody messes with my family," Tom shot back.

Tremblay had continued to work his way into the living room, driving Jenny back closer to Tom.

"Here's what's going to happen, asshole!" Tremblay continued. He reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out a roll of duct tape and threw it to Tom. "You're going to tie your cute little wifey up and then tape her to one of those chairs. Then, you're going to go to the bank and get me twenty-five grand to help me feel better and keep me from doing any harm to your sweet little lady here."

There was no mistaking the menace in his voice, or the single mindedness of his plan.

"I don't suppose you've figured out that the banks aren't open until tomorrow?" Tom offered quietly.

"I can wait, and so can you. Now tape her hands together and make it good!"

Tom turned and stood in front of Jenny. He handed her the roll of tape and whispered, "Stand very still."

He turned back to Tremblay with his hands up at shoulder height in what seemed to be surrender.

"I said tape her hands ... now!"

"No!"

"Whaddya mean no. I'm the one with the gun!" Tremblay growled, and moved closer to Tom, waving the gun in a dangerous fashion.

Tom caught a whiff of the gunman's breath and smelled liquor. He continued to shield Jenny from the man and waited patiently as Tremblay moved another step closer.

"Just one more step," Tom thought to himself as his eyes were welded on the intruder. He stood still with his hands raised and waited.

"You want a bullet in you?" Tremblay yelled as he made that one more step toward Tom.

He never knew what hit him. The hardened edge of Tom's left hand snapped his right wrist like a stale pretzel. He would have screamed in pain if it weren't for the fact that the heel of Tom's right hand slammed into his mouth, splattering blood and teeth over the immediate area. The heel of Tom's left hand slapped hard into Tremblay's right ear, instantly bursting the ear drum.

Tremblay sank to his knees, the gun dropped from his hand harmlessly onto the carpet, and the now unconscious man slumped the rest of the way to the floor. The entire drama had taken less than three seconds. Tom kicked the gun across the floor, out of the intruder's reach.

Tom turned to Jenny whose mouth was open and her eyes wide in shock. She hadn't really seen what Tom had done to the man, but in a blur of action, he had ended the confrontation. Tom wrapped his arms around his wife and held her closely for a moment, then led her to the kitchen. He looked directly into her eyes before he spoke.

"Jenny, please go downstairs and make sure Nikki is alright, and keep her down there while I deal with this. OK?"

Jenny nodded and slowly went to the basement stairs.

Tom took the cordless phone from its cradle and hit 911.

"Yes, I'd like to report an attempted home invasion," he began. He gave the voice on the other end of the line his name, address, phone number and requested an ambulance. Within five minutes, the local police arrived.

The constable and his partner approached Tom's house cautiously. Tom had left the front door open and both the porch light and foyer light on. He stood in the middle of the living room in plain sight of the policemen and near the unconscious form of Martin Tremblay.

"Are you the person who called 911?" the first constable asked.

"Yes, I'm Tom Blanton," was his clear reply.

"Who's this guy on the floor?" the constable asked, looking carefully at Tom.

"His name is Martin Tremblay, and he came into our house armed with that pistol over there," Tom answered, pointing at the gun on the edge of the carpet.

"How did he end up like this?" the constable asked.

"I disarmed him. He was threatening me and my wife with the gun. I'm sure you'll want a full statement and we can do that anytime, but right now my wife is traumatized, and in the basement with our daughter," Tom said forcefully.

"What did you hit him with?" the constable continued.

"My hands," Tom answered simply.

At that point the ambulance and paramedics arrived along with two more police cars. It was turning into a festival of flashing red, yellow and blue lights. Two officers were dispatched to the basement to find Jenny and Nikki.

The paramedics determined that Tremblay had no life threatening injuries and strapped him to a gurney. Two more officers accompanied him to the hospital. By the time the officers had briefly interviewed Jenny to get her version of the events, and had brought her and Nikki back upstairs, Tremblay was gone and the gun had been bagged for evidence. Other than some blood spatter on the carpet, there was little evidence that a major drama had occurred in the room.

Jenny was visibly shaken and had not spoken a word other than her halting answers to the policemen when they interviewed her in the basement. The police quickly compared notes and determined that what they said had happened appeared to be the case.

Due to the lateness of the hour, not to mention the nearness of the end of their shift, they asked Tom and Jenny to come to the police station tomorrow to formalize their statements. Both readily agreed.

A half hour later, the three Blanton's were sitting at the kitchen table. Tom was patiently explaining what happen to Nikki in a way that wouldn't frighten her before Jenny sent her off to bed. The youngster had been completely unaware of the events in their living room and was only concerned when her mother had come downstairs and sat silently with her watching TV. She didn't understand why there were so many policemen in the house and why they had to talk to her mom in the basement. Tom did his best to minimize the situation, and for now that seemed to have worked.

Jenny was a different matter. She had answered the door and when Martin Tremblay had asked her if this was Tom Blanton's home, she said it was. Tremblay then produced the gun and told her that if she didn't want to get hurt or killed, she would quietly walk back into the house.

She had held her hands out as futile protection as she backed into the great room. She thought she might faint from fear. When Tom appeared behind her she stopped moving, wide eyed with terror, not knowing what to do next. Once again, Tom had taken charge, seemingly a different person, and strangely calm in these circumstances. When he whispered to her to stay still, she easily complied. She was rigid with fear.

She couldn't see what actually happened. Tom had made himself a human shield to protect her from Tremblay and his big frame blocked out any sight she might have had of the intruder. She nearly fainted again when Tom refused to tape her up. She was sure the next thing she would hear would be a gunshot.

But no, instead, in what seemed to be only an instant, the whole confrontation had ended. The intruder was on the floor and the gun was on the other side of the room. The nightmare was over.

Jenny tried to calm down, but she was still shaking from the drama. She had never seen a real gun before, much less having one pointed threateningly at her. She had deduced from the conversation that the man was the loan shark who Tom had paid off to free Vinnie from his debt.

As she sat at the kitchen table just staring at her hands, she was conscious of Tom's arm around her. She looked at him and saw a calm, resolute face. It had been devoid of fear, and he had saved her and the family from real danger.

She was vaguely angry with Vinnie for bringing this all down on them. She was caught unawares by the events. She had never felt this vulnerable before. She wondered how long it would be before she got over this night.

Later, in bed, Tom held Jenny closely. She had been crying off and on. She admitted how frightened she had been. Just before they had retired, the phone rang and Jenny jumped in shock. It was the city newspaper, asking about a report of a home invasion. Tom referred them to the police and hung up. The phone rang a few more times, but they chose not to answer it. They would deal with the police and media in the morning. Neither Tom nor Jenny slept well that night.

In the morning, Jenny was up early, made coffee and Nikki's lunch as well as their regular breakfast. Despite the lack of sleep and the traumatic events of the preceding evening, she felt alert and was anxious to get the statement to the police over with.

Tom arrived in the kitchen looking decidedly worse. He had not slept well either. He had been forced to use his karate skills against another human being, and the result was a badly injured opponent. He didn't feel good about it, but had rationalized that he could not have taken the chance that Tremblay might have gotten a shot off and potentially killed one or both of them. He too was anxious to get the police report behind them.

It took nearly two hours to formally file their statements with the police. The officers made it clear that there was no doubt about the events of the previous evening, and that there was no reason to be concerned about Tremblay being granted bail any time soon.

He was in hospital under guard, and would be transferred to the local jail when the doctors deemed him fit to be released. His blood alcohol level was 0.1 when he was tested almost two hours after the incident. There was no permit for the gun, as it had been stolen in the U.S. and smuggled into Canada. His previous brushes with the law included assault and uttering threats, and that pretty well precluded bail.

Tom had briefly considered only telling the police about the home invasion portion of his history with Tremblay, but decided the downside of that strategy might come back to haunt him. Instead, he gave them the entire story about Vinnie's loan, the beating, the arrest of the enforcer and the payout to cover the debt. He only left out the single punch that had cracked two of Tremblay's ribs.

The officer taking the statement nodded knowingly and suggested Tom's brother had been very lucky to have someone like him who could bail him out. Shortly before eleven that morning, Tom and Jenny walked out of the police station and headed for their vehicles. Jenny had regained her composure and was back to her normal routine. She was still shaken by the events, but had accepted that it was over and that there was no danger of retaliation. Nikki was in school and Jenny was on her way to the store for the balance of the day. Tom headed for his truck and a quick review of activities with Robbie. Once again, Robbie had stepped into the breach, and covered all the jobsites.

Jenny was still in awe over Tom's cool demeanor and skillful handling of another dangerous situation. He seemed to be another person when danger was present. He had faced down a man with a loaded gun and had disarmed him in a couple of seconds. He had probably saved her from an unknown fate at the hands of Martin Tremblay. He didn't show any signs of anger. In fact, if anything, he was disappointed that he had to hurt someone. She wondered what other secret skills he possessed.

It was Friday and Tom was home early for a change. Jenny smiled and kissed him when he walked into the kitchen that early evening. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her closely to him.

"Pack a bag for you and Nikki, love. We are getting out of here for the weekend," Tom stated flatly.

"Really!" she exclaimed. "Where are we going?"

"I have a beach house in Madeira Park for the weekend," he said with an exaggerated smile. "If we leave in the next hour, we can be there before nine tonight."

"Oh, that sounds great, Tom. I'll get Nikki and we'll be ready to go in no time. You can tell me how this all came about in the car," she laughed.

Within a half hour, an excited Nikki, and an ever-organized Jenny were ready to go for the weekend. They piled all the gear into the Jaguar and headed for the Horseshoe Bay ferry dock, and the 5:30 sailing to Langdale. They made it with ease and decided to eat dinner on the other side in Gibson's Landing.

The forty minute ferry ride was made in the dark of the late November afternoon. Jenny had her legs tucked up under her in the forward lounge seat beside Tom and had her arm over his shoulders listening to him tell her about his friend who had offered the house to them for the weekend.

Their neighbor would let the carpet cleaners in to look after the stains from the previous night's craziness. Getting out of town avoided the media circus that might have developed, and would give them a couple of days of privacy before returning on Sunday.

The police had been reluctant to release much information and the neighbors were not anxious to have TV cameras camped out on their street. As a result, the story was not getting much traction.

Jenny put her head on Tom's shoulder and closed her eyes. Last night's lack of sleep was catching up to her. Nikki was exploring the ferry and had been past her mother and step-father's location a couple of times. Tom had made life sane again for them. He knew what to do and it took away the fear of the unknown. They were in good hands. The only question left in Jenny's mind was when to tell Tom she was pregnant.

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